THE WIFE of one of Ireland’s beaten Rugby World Cup stars has hit out at the media’s treatment of the team in the wake of their resounding defeat to New Zealand.
Ireland went down 46-14 to the All Blacks in an error-strewn performance that brought the curtain down on Joe Schmidt’s time as the team’s head coach.
It also marked captain Rory Best’s final game ahead of his retirement from the sport and a disappointing end to a tournament Ireland had entered as one of the favourites.
Despite the nature of the defeat, Jean-Marié Stander, the wife of Irish international CJ Stander, took to to social media to hit back at the reaction in some quarters to the loss.
“As if it isn’t gutting enough for the players’ & coaches’ hard work & sacrifices over 4+ years not to be reflected in their overall performance this year,” she wrote
“I find the media reaction from “our very own” quite disrespectful... talk about kicking someone when they’re down.”
As if it isn’t gutting enough for the players’ & coaches’ hard work & sacrifices over 4+ years not to be reflected in their overall performance this year... i find the media reaction from “our very own” quite disrespectful... talk about kicking someone when they’re down.
— Jean-Marié Stander (@JMNeethling) October 21, 2019
She continued: “All the incredible achievements over 3 years instantly overshadowed by a poor (RWC) season.
“Athletes don’t go out trying to underperform, they’re human & with that comes failure, I suppose it’s too much for some to understand the demands of performing at such high levels consistently.”
All the incredible achievements over 3 years instantly overshadowed by a poor (RWC) season.Athletes don’t go out trying to underperform,they’re human & with that comes failure,I suppose its too much for some to understand the demands of performing at such high levels consistently
— Jean-Marié Stander (@JMNeethling) October 21, 2019
Stander went on to expand on her remarks to the Irish Independent, concluding that "to have a beating from the media, it's just sad, they now have to come back and if that was me, I would be dreading coming back to Ireland".
The past few years have brought considerable success to Ireland rugby, with the national side rising to the rank of no.1 in the world at the start of the year.
Ireland won their third ever Grand Slam under Schmidt in the 2018 Six Nations Championship with a 15-24 win over England at Twickenham on March 17 (St Patrick's Day).
